Apparatus for sterilizing liquids by means of ultra violet rays.



. V. HENRI, A. HELBRONNER &'M. VbN RECKLINGHAUSEN. APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING LIQUIDS BY MEANS OF ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS.

I APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. 1910.

1,151,67. Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

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.cause the liquid to flow past FRANCE, ASSIGNOIRS, CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ANDRE HELIBRONNER, AND MAX VON RECKLINGHAUSEN, OF PARIS, IBYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE R. U. V. COMPANY, INC., A

APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING LIQUIDS BY MEANS OF ULTRA VIOLET 'RAYS.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, VICTOR HENRI and ANDRE HELBRONNER, citizens of the Republic of France, and Mex VON RECKLINGHAU- SEN, asubject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at 'Paris, France, have nvented the new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Sterilizing Liquids by Means of Ultraviolet Rays of which the following. 1s a specification. I

This invention relates to the sterlllzatlon of liquids and more particularly to the stemlization of those liquids whlch are only slightly or not at all opaque to ultra-v olet rays. Water for example is such a l1qu1d.

It has already been proposed to sterilize water by inserting in conduits or channels through which the water flows mercury vapor lamps having containers of quartz or silica. These lamps emit ultra-violet rays and as quartz or silica is transparent to these rays they are able tolpass freely into the surrounding water. his method, however does not utilize the rays' to their fullest efficiency owing to the cooling of the lamp by the water which produces a harmful effect on the electrical characteristics of the lamp which will emit fewer rays when water cooled than when operating normally in the atmosphere and only cooled by the movement of the surrounding air.

According to our invention, instead of immersing the lamp or source of ultra-violet rays in the liquid, we place it outside and the lamp in a zigzag or undulating fashion, this being accomplished by causing the liquid to flow through a trough provided with baflle plates or otherwise so arranged as to cause the liquid to flow in the desired manner.

In order to utilize the rays emitted to their fullest possible extent, the lamp or other source is provided with a reflector and the sides of the troughs and baflies are made of a reflecting material, such as polished metal, so that the rays which pass through the liquid are caused to re-traverse the same and are therefore utilized to their fullest extent.

The liquid may be caused to pass and re Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Application med June 7, 1910. Serial-No. 565,611.

of movement of the liquid will be substan tially parallel with the direction of the rays, or the liquid may be caused to move in a zigzag path in a horizontal plane, in which case the direction of movement is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the rays.

In another method of carrying out the invention, the liquid is caused to traverse a spiral path, the spiral being formed on the surf-ace of a cone and the lamp located within the entrance of the cone. With this arrangemen-t the rays are utilized very efliciently and with a small apparatus.

In a further modified form of apparatus, troughs or conduits are so arranged that the liquid is exposed in its passage for a short time to the effect of the rays, and then during the next portion of its path is removed from the influence and again exposed to the influence of the rays and removed. This reried out in practice.

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly sectional, of one form of apparatus, Fig. 2 is a plan of another form of apparatus and Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are elevations, partly sectional, illustrating other modified forms of apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, the source of ultraviolet rays is indicated as being a mercury vapor lamp 1 having a quartz container and provided with a reflector 2, the liquid to be sterilized is admitted through a pipe 3 to a trough 4 provided with a series of baflle plates 5 arranged with spaces at the top and bottom alternately so that the liquid is caused to pass through the trough in the direction of the arrows to the outlet 6; in order to utilize the eifect of the rays to the fullest extent, the sides of the trough and the baflie plates are made of reflecting material.

In Fig. 2 the trough takes the form of a zigzag tube arranged in a horizontal plane provided with an inlet 7 at one end and an outlet 8 at the other end, the flow of liquid taking place in the direction of the arrows. In Fig. 3 the trough is of a spiral form and is arranged so that the liquid in its passage along the same is exposed at all parts to the influence of the ultra-violet rays.

Figs. 4 and 5 show arrangements in which the liquid is withdrawn from the influence of the rays at certain parts of its passage. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, which is substantially similar to that of Fig. 1, certain of the baflies are united at the top by plates 9 which are impervious to the ultraviolet rays, so that when the liquid is traversinga space below said plates it will be removed from the influence of the rays. In Fig. 5 the same effect is obtained by using more than one source of the rays; the trough or receptacle-is here divided into three com-- partments indicated at 10, 11 and 12. Compartments 10 and 12, are therefore arranged so that the liquid in its passage through the compartments is brought under the influence of the rays. In the middle compartment 11, however, the liquid is not subjected to the rays and this compartment therefore corresponds to what may be termed a dark space. We find that the best results are obtained by making the time of exposure of the liquid to the rays less than the time during which it is removed from their influence. This is indicated in Fig. 4 by making the covered parts of the trough larger than thevuncovered parts, so that the liquid is only exposed to the rays for about i of the whole time that it is passing through the apparatus. We do not, however, restrict our invention in this respect nor to these precise proportions.

In all the arrangements the interior surfaces of'the conduits and baflie plates should be made of reflecting material so that the eflect of the ultra-violet rays may be fully utilized by causing them to traverse back and forth through the liquid.

It will be observed that since the liquid is onlyslightly opaque, even if it is not absm lutely transparent to the ultra-violet rays,

we are able to use conduits or troughs of considerable depth as the effect of the rays upon the inner layers of the liquid is little diminished by the effect of their passage through the outer layers.

It is desirable to arrange the bafiie plates and troughs or conduits in such a manner that the liquid will flow at the same rate through all parts of the apparatus by which means every particle of the liquid is subjected to the influence of .the rays for the same period of time, whereby the whole of the liquid is equally sterilized.

We claim as our invention.

1. The method of sterilizing liquids,

which consists in passing thesame through rays, subjecting all the liquid while in such I region directly to the action of such rays, and continually agitating the liquid while in the field of such rays and under the sterilizing influence of the same.

3. The method of sterilizing liquids, which consists in passing the same through parts of an apparatus illuminated by the direct action of the ultra-violet rays from a suitable source, and agitating the liquid in its passage through the apparatus so that all particles thereof will at some time be exposed directly to the sterilizing influence of the rays.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names this 25th day of May, 1910.

DEAN B. MASON, JACK H. BAKER. 

